Global Covid-19 cases nearing 33 million


Washington: As of Monday morning, the total number of cases stood at 32,977,556 and the fatalities rose to 996,674, the University’s Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) revealed in its latest update.

The US is the worst-hit country with the world’s highest number of cases and deaths at 7,113,666 and 204,750, respectively, according to the CSSE.

India comes in the second place in terms of cases at 5,992,532, while the country’s death toll soared to 94,503.

The other top 15 countries with the maximum amount of cases are Brazil (4,717,991), Russia (1,146,273, Colombia (813,056), Peru (800,142), Mexico (730,317, Spain (716,481), Argentina (711,325), South Africa (670,766), France (552,473), Chile (457,901), Iran (446,448), the UK (437,516), Bangladesh (359,148), Iraq (349,450) and Saudi Arabia (333,193), the CSSE figures showed.

Brazil currently accounts for the second highest number of fatalities at 141,741. The countries with a death toll above 10,000 are Mexico (76,430), the UK (42,077), Italy (35,835), Peru (32,142), France (31,675), Spain (31,232), Iran (25,589), Colombia (25,488), Russia (20,239), South Africa (16,398), Argentina (15,749), Chile (12,641), Ecuador (11,279) and Indonesia (10,386).

While virtually addressing the 75th session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA), Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said that members of the world body have a moral responsibility to share an effective Covid-19 vaccine. He made the remarks on Saturday via video-link.

Whoever finds the vaccine must share it. This is a global responsibility, and it’s a moral responsibility, for a vaccine to be shared far and wide, Morrison was quoted as saying by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) in a news report.

Some might see short-term advantage, or even profit. I assure you to anyone who may think along those lines, humanity will have a very long memory and be a very, very severe judge.

The Prime Minister pledged to share with the world any discoveries made in the country’s three local Covid-19 vaccine trials. If we find the vaccine we will share it. That’s the pledge we all must make, he said.

Australia has spent A$6 million to help fund the research and development of potential vaccines from the Doherty Institute, the Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences and the University of Sydney.

Meanwhile, Morrison also said there is a “clear mandate” for Australian-led efforts to push for an international probe into the origins of the coronavirus, which was first detected in the Chinese city of Wuhan in December 2019.